sublime guitar co

In the electric guitar market, there’s often a no man’s land between budget-priced Asian instruments and pricier models from the U.S. and E.U. But since the quality and consistency of low-cost imports is better than ever, purchase decisions often come down to a simple calculation: Is it wiser to buy a costlier instrument from Europe or the States, or go Asian and budget a couple of hundred bucks for upgrades?

Some savvy manufacturers are undermining that two-tiered system. At least that seems to be the strategy of Florida-based Sublime Guitars. Their instruments’ parts are made in Asia (sourced, they say, from smaller, hand-picked production facilities), with final setup done in the U.S. Sublime’s initial offerings are the offset solidbody Tomcat and the semi-hollow Chieftain Deluxe reviewed here.